New Italy contribution to support physical and mental health services in conflict affected Ninewa

Baghdad, 18 December 2018 --- The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes a generous contribution of €1,000,000 million from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation to support the provision of physical and mental health rehabilitation services for the conflict-affected population from Ninewa Governorate.

The new contribution will be used to ensure access for mentally and physically disabled war victims to high-quality medical services. It will also assist in building the capacity of health staff working in the areas of physical rehabilitation interventions and case assessment and management.

“WHO appreciates the generous donation from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation; it will certainly contribute to building on the good results achieved by WHO and partners in providing mental and physical rehabilitation services in Mosul,” said Dr. Adham R. Ismail, Acting WHO Representative in Iraq.

The military operation to retake Mosul, which took place from October 2016 to July 2017, resulted in a high number of civilian casualties and related mental and physical disabilities. According to national health statistics, the total number of amputees living in Ninewa and registered in Mosul Rehabilitation Centre alone stands at 4,493 cases.

People suffering from mental illnesses and complications have also significantly increased due to stress and conflict-related losses. Almost 2% of the population affected by the conflict are facing serious mental health problems, especially an extremely vulnerable population of women, children, and the elderly.

“With support from donors such as the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, major gaps will be addressed with effective and sustainable solutions; it is a collective responsibility to drive all health response components of the recovery and reconstruction phase in retaken areas to success,” said Dr. Ismail.